Connecting to a WiFi network

Whether you're at home, at work or out and about, chances are you'll find WiFi networks your Windows Phone can connect to. WiFi can save you mobile data – plus it's often faster than a mobile network connection and can even save some battery power. You can still do most of the things you can with a mobile data connection, like browse the web, download apps, stream music and much more.

There are a few ways to get connected to WiFi – starting from when you first set up your phone. If you choose to use WiFi Sense, it can connect you to open WiFi networks it knows about or to networks that your contacts have shared with you. You'll have Internet access without needing to do things on your own to get connected. (WiFi Sense may not be available in all countries or regions and is only available on Windows Phone 8.1. Check to see which software version you have and find out if an update is available.)

To connect to a WiFi network on your own

When WiFi is on, your phone will search for available WiFi networks in the area. If a network is found, you'll see its name listed, along with whether it's an open or secure network.

Tap the network you want to connect to.

If you're connecting to a secure network and are asked to enter a password, do that.

(optional) If you're using WiFi Sense and want to share access to the network with your contacts, tick the Share network with my contacts checkbox. If you don't want to share that network, untick the checkbox.

If you do choose to share with your contacts, they'll get Internet access when they're in range of the network and connected to it, but they won't see the network password.

Tap Done to connect.

Tips

To learn about WiFi hotspots, including how to see ones near you on a map and connect automatically to any your mobile operator may offer, see Finding WiFi hotspots. When you connect to WiFi, your phone will send connection-related information to Microsoft if the Send information about WiFi connections to help discover nearby Wi-Fi checkbox is ticked in Settings > WiFi > Manage. To find out what specific information is collected, see the Windows Phone 8.1 Privacy Statement.

Open networks aren't secure. For example, anyone can connect and possibly see what you're doing. Be careful when doing things online that require personal or sensitive information, or wait until you can connect to a secure network that you trust before doing these things.

Have a computer or tablet running Windows 8.1? Go to Settings > Sync my settings on your Windows Phone 8.1 and turn on Passwords . After that, you'll only need to enter a network password once – your other devices will automatically connect to the network when it's in range. For more info about how this works, see Synchronising your Windows Phone settings.